How is it possible for an arrow to continue flying through the air after it has left the bow? Is the arrow’s movement powered by an angel’s wing beat until it runs out? Or did the arrow receive impulse – a speed with a certain direction – from the tensioned bowstring?
The second explanation is the most likely, even if you didn’t pay very close attention in physics class. If there are several ways to explain a phenomenon or a measurement, then the simplest explanation, making the fewest (unproven) assumptions, is probably the correct one.
This principle, which scientists regularly apply, is known as Ockham’s razor. It is named after William van Ockham, a Franciscan friar who lived in England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. He was not the first to apply this principle, but his approach to medieval philosophy and the established “gods” was so rigorous that he became infamous and even charged with inciting heresy.
Life is simple is a tribute by British quantum biologist Johnjoe McFadden to Ockham and his razor. The book has a high information density. It not only describes Ockham’s life and the relationship between religion and science at that time. McFadden also shows how the principle of Ockham’s razor has played a role in the refinement of scientific theories for centuries. From Copernicus’ heliocentric world view, to Darwin’s theory of evolution and Einstein’s theory of relativity. McFadden describes how these scientific developments came about with Ockham’s razor in hand.
For this, McFadden takes you through major scientific discoveries: from the electric Leyden jar, to DNA and quantum mechanics. All topics are explained in a compact way, with some helpful illustrations. Yet it turns out that the search for the ‘simplest explanation with fewest assumptions’ can lead to surprisingly complex theories.
#Praise #Ockhams #razor